This bard thing has a special place in my CF-heart, so forgive the long rambling.

This has been something I've been nudging for ever since I immed as my bard character Amberlea in 1998. Amberlea, as some may recall, was the first evil bard, and a Scarabite. She refused to sing "Galadriel" (for obvious reasons), which first planted the seed that roleplaying wise, not all lyrics fit all bards. When I went on to become a Herald imm and bard patron as Lyria - I saw other bards struggle with some roleplaying issues with the class - usually pure-hearted or righteous bards who refused to sing some of the new "darker" themed songs. Bards were the only class with abilities in which the echoes - independent of any function - created a roleplaying feel that did not always fit with characters.

Interest waxed and waned in the suggestion of a lyric revamp since 1998. Various imms would comment and eventually about 3 years ago, as the goal of eliminating copywritten content became a central idea, the bard revamp started to form into something cohesive and recognized. A forum contest was introduced to gather some lyric submissions from the mortals, and we discussed the functionality that might accompany lyric changes.

But like any project of this nature, it ultimately takes a combination not only imm interest but the commitment of a bit boss type to make it happen. I continued to be persistent but accepting. Being an imm as long as I have, I've learned that now matter how much something is desired or needed, if it isn't interesting or fun to enough people who have to do the actual work, it just can't be done.

Every year I would put in a respectful plea for the project, including commiting myself to any gruntwork necessary to get it done. I had already written original or collected public-domain folk song lyrics for any song not covered by the contest submissions. Finally this year, during my anual "What about the bard project?" prodding (instigated by a public forum post, by the way, inquiring about our old copywritten lyric). - There was finally a significant response.

As often is the case, you have largely Valguarnera to thank for these changes. He did, as usual, put an enormous amount of time and effort into the bard project. Thankless time and effort, for the most part.

I'm not trying to suggest that this project is only a product of Valg and myself. Many other imms committed their time and ideas to the project, not only recently but in years past, including some imms who are no longer with us. But as someone who immed as a bard and has been wanting to see a project of this nature implemented for 7 years, I cannot emphasize enough how awesome it is to see the bard class gain more versatility and aesthetic originality. I want to give a big thanks to Valg and everyone else who contributed for giving me the opportunity to help see and make it happen before my extended absense. What a great send-off!